MEET THE SCIENTISTS
at the VEE Team
Our team combines expertise in microbial ecology, comparative genomics, and bioinformatics to uncover the hidden roles of viruses in shaping life on Earth.
Dr. Pedro Leão
Interested in uncovering the impact of virus–host interactions in ecology and evolution. With a background in ultrastructure characterization of prokaryotes, and metagenomics, now he uses computational biology resources to streamline the experimental validation of computational predictions.
Current Focus
Bring archaea to the debate on the origin of immune system mechanism in eukaryotes, and target discovery of viral-inspired tool to tackle the clima crises.
Dmitry Bespiatykh
PhD Candidate
Investigating mobile genetic elements (MGE) in Asgard archaea and their roles in the evolution of cellular complexity.
Anna-Marie Seelen
Technician
Responsible for administration of resources and projects, ensuring the lab runs smoothly and efficiently.
Stefania Sburlan
Master Student
Working on the pangenome of Methanoperedens, exploring the genomic diversity and metabolic potential of these anaerobic methane-oxidising archaea.
Martijn Corvers
Master Student
Characterizing the virome of TACK archaea to understand viral diversity and host interactions in deep archaea.
Join the Lab
We are always looking for motivated PhD candidates and postdocs interested in viral ecology and evolution.